LAW306 Family Law: Assessment - Tasks and Legal Advice

Task 1: Draft a letter of advice to the client.

LAW306 Family Law: Assessment

Task 1: Draft a letter of advice to the client. The letter should not be drafted as a client care letter. The letter must outline the key stages of the process of applying for a divorce and briefly advise as to whether, on the facts provided, Alison is likely to satisfy the legal threshold for divorce under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. You should not provide references in the letter. You should ensure the letter is drafted in an appropriate and professional format/manner. 

 

Task 2: Complete a D8 form on behalf of Alison. The relevant form can be accessed via https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service. You will need to download a copy of the D8 form and save it to your computer before you begin to edit/complete the form. 

 

Task 3: Draft a memo to your supervising solicitor (Amy Sixsmith) outlining the impending changes to the law governing divorce and dissolution in England and Wales. The memo should summarise the key changes that will be implemented as a result of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. This task must be referenced, and you must use the OSCOLA referencing style. 

 

Task 4: Draft a document (using Microsoft Word) that outlines/summarises the following:

 

a. The financial order(s) the client can apply for in order to continue to live in the marital home.

 

b. The type of order(s) that the client can apply for to resolve the dispute about where the children will live following the divorce.

 

c. The type of order(s) that the client can apply for in order to change the children’s surname.

 

d. The factors that the court would likely take into account when determining whether to grant any order under s 8 Children Act 1989.

 

e. Whether, on the facts provided, you feel the client would likely succeed if she applied for any order to change the children’s surname to White. 

 

This task must be referenced, and you must use the OSCOLA referencing style.  

 

Task 5: Produce a single document (using Microsoft Word) that summarises the research you undertook in order to complete for tasks 1 and 2. This task must be referenced, and you must use the OSCOLA referencing style.

 

Read the following information carefully:

The client is a female named Mrs Alison Dorwood.  

 

Alison Dorwood’s date of birth is 05/10/1987. Alison married her husband, John Dorwood, on 13/07/2016. They married at the registry office in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Both Alison and John were born in Sunderland and have lived there their whole lives. John’s date of birth is 05/05/1985. The pair have two children together. Their children are Amelia Dorwood (aged 5) and Anthony Dorwood (aged 2). Alison works part-time as a healthcare worker.

Task 2: Complete a D8 form on behalf of Alison.

 

John works full-time as a car mechanic. They live together at 22 Ashwood Drive, Ashbrooke, Sunderland, SR3 7DE. They have lived at that address since 2013. Before then, Alison lived with a friend in a rented house (address: 32 Riverview Gardens, City Centre, Sunderland, SR1 6AD) and John lived in a rented house with a former partner (address: 21 Wear Street, Sunniside, Sunderland, SR2 2AT). 

Alison and John have reached the mutual decision to end their marriage. In the past, both Alison and John have engaged in extramarital sexual relationships with third parties. They both feel that they have drifted apart and feel that their marriage is beyond repair. They have attempted  marriage counselling, but this did not seem to improve their relationship. They both feel that it would be best to divorce so that they can both ‘start again’. The pair have agreed that the fee for the divorce application will be paid by Alison from their joint bank account.

 

Alison wants to remain in the marital home with Amelia and Anthony. She feels it would be best if she acted as the children’s primary carer and has suggested that John have the children for overnight stays on Saturday night each week. She feels that this would be the best way to minimise disruption to the children’s routine. Additionally, Alison’s sister (Millie) has agreed to help Alison with childcare during the week so that Alison can work on a full-time basis and support herself financially. Millie, who has young children herself, is taking a career break.

 

As such, she is available throughout the week to help Alison with childcare. John does not want Alison to care for the children on a full-time basis. He is worried that he will be ‘side-lined’ if he does not see the children regularly throughout the week. He thinks that the children’s time should be split 50:50 between both parents. Alison feels that this would be impractical. John also feels that is would be unfair for Alison to remain in the marital home. In his view, it would be unfair to allow Alison to take over the mortgage and stay in the home because he has always paid a larger proportion of the mortgage payments and household bills.

 

He feels it would be fairer to sell the property and split the (modest) proceeds between them. Alison also plans to change her surname back to White when the divorce is finalised. She wants the children’s names to be changed to White too. John strongly opposes Alison’s proposal to change the children’s surnames to White. Alison has requested that Sixsmith and Co LLP complete an application for divorce on her behalf and advise her on her legal position in respect of the other disputes that have arisen.